Achilla Orru

Achilla Orru, a multi-talented and award-winning musician, was born among the Karimojong people in Northeastern Uganda.

He was considered to be king of the thumb piano (the lokembe, also known the kalimba), an instrument he began playing as a child at a special school for the blind after losing his sight at age six.

He received the first of many accolades in 1975, when he won the Junior Award for the Thumb Piano at the Uganda National Music Festival in Kampala. Orru moved to Canada in 1989, settling in Halifax first, and then Toronto in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he was named Best New Performer at the inaugural Toronto African Music Awards.

He also performed with a six-piece band called Baana Afrique. His third album, Dho-mach (Sacred Gift) was released in May 2004, at a special concert at Glenn Gould Studio.

Orru spoke several languages and was a graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax. He toured extensively around the world, until his death in 2013.